By signing this petition, you are in agreement that University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee should issue a tuition decrease or partial tuition refund for those enrolled in in-person courses during the Spring 2020 semester. 

On March 18th, 2020, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee announced that, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it would extend its delivery of online or alternative delivery of instruction starting Monday, March 30th for the remainder of the semester. 

The last date of in-person instruction was March 13th, 2020, and because many students will be completing programs online that are not officially offered as online programs by the University, the students of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee hereby request the University to issue a partial refund to all students enrolled in in-person courses. 

REIMBURSEMENT / PARTIAL REFUND: Student reimbursement is necessary, especially given that tuition not only consists of classes, but also many classes require extra fees from students for "specialty courses," "differential tuition," etc. If students are not attending classes or utilizing the campus resources that they have already paid for because of an action made by the University, they should be refunded. 

QUALITY OF EDUCATION: Transitioning all courses to online courses rather than continuing to facilitate them in person diminishes the quality of education students receive. Students will not have the same face-to-face interactions with our professors and peers in the intimate class settings, which is what sets the standards for the quality of education UW-Milwaukee provides. Moreover, many majors are not designed for virtual or online learning (i.e. dance, film production, laboratory sciences, theatre arts, etc.), and forcing them to switch to remote, virtual, or online forms of learning will be ineffective in allowing students to fully immerse themselves in what they’re learning, take advantage of resources, or have access to proper equipment.

POTENTIAL FOR EQUAL ACHIEVEMENT: It is ableist to assume that all students can learn at the same level through digital or virtual formats as they do in face-to-face formats. UW-Milwaukee needs to specify what online classes will entail in every area of the University, and how they plan to accommodate for any and all students. There must be accommodation plans in place for students, especially those with disabilities, those without the tools necessary to allow their success (including but not limited to transportation to the resources the university has offered), and those in poor living-learning environments.

While the spread of the COVID-19 is ultimately out of the control of UW-Milwaukee, it is unreasonable for the student body to not be refunded for partial tuition due to this unprecedented change in how we are now required to learn. The quality and potential for achievement of the entire student population of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has been compromised due to this transition. 

A link to the UW-Milwaukee's "Budget In Brief": https://uwm.edu/budget/wp-content/uploads/sites/246/2018/10/UWM_BudgetInBrief_2017-18_web_ak.pdf